The Dark Knight of Echo Creek
by MaxGentlman1
Summary: "This is my city, and I shall do all that I can to protect it. I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman!" Rated T for violence and mild language.
1. A Hero's Rise

**This is an AU story. This is the second story in a much wider Disney/DC universe that I am weaving together. Hope you enjoy the first chapter. Please give me your thoughts and opinions, it'll be much appreciated. With that out of the way, on with the story!**

* * *

 **-January, Echo Creek, Diaz Mansion;** **12 Years ago-**

"Come on, let me see it, Jackie!" Marco Diaz, a young, ten year old Hispanic boy with short, brown hair and a red hoodie called out, chasing after his friend, Jackie Lynn-Thomas, a ten year old girl with short, blonde hair, through his home's garden. He followed her into a green house and found her hiding beneath a table.

"Come on, let me see." He asked.

"Sorry, Marco, finders keepers." She said playfully.

"Can I _please_ see it." He asked as nicely as he possibly could. Seeing the slight look of desperation on his face, Jackie opened her hands up to show an arrowhead that they had found a few minutes prior.

Before she could react, Marco snatched the arrowhead out of her palm and ran off back into the garden.

"Hey!" She yelled.

"Finders keepers!" Marco called back with a chuckle as he ran away from his friend.

He ran around a corner and hid behind some bushes. He stayed as quiet as he could as he saw Jackie round the corner he came from. Just as she was passing by his hiding spot, Marco felt something cracking beneath his sneakers.

Before he knew what was happening, the ground fell out from under him, sending him falling into a deep, dark hole. He landed on his back hard and groaned. He attempted to pick himself up but he stopped when he felt a horrible pain in his arm. He felt as though it were broken.

"Marco?" He heard Jackie's voice call out. He then saw Jackie's face in the hole above him,"Marco! Okay, don't move, I'll go get help!" She called down to him before running off back toward the house, "Mom! Mr. Ford!" She called out.

Marco tried to readjust himself while Jackie got help. As he did though, he heard something coming from a tunnel beside him. It sounded like high-pitched squeaking and the flapping of wings. As he looked into the darkness of the tunnel, he heard the noise get louder and louder, getting closer and nearer to him.

Suddenly, from the darkness of the tunnel, what looked like hundreds of bats swarmed out at him, flying at and around him as he screamed in fear. He waved his arms at them, trying to fend them off. He continued to struggle as they flew past him and out the hole above him.

* * *

 **-Present Day-**

Marco's eyes shot open as he awoke from his sleep. He took in deep breaths as he looked around and took in his surroundings. He was in prison of all places. More specifically, a prison in Guadalajara. The room was hot from the summer sun and humid from the inmates' breathing. As he continued to look around and get his bearings, he turned to his cellmate, a Hispanic man who was about ten years Marco's senior, making him about thirty-two.

"Bad dream?" He asked.

"Nightmare." Marco answered. Just then, one of the prison's guards banged his club against the cell's bars.

"Hey, get up. Breakfast time." He said firmly as he opened the cell and guided the two prisoners out to the yard where they were serving breakfast. As the two got in line, Marco's cellmate leaned up behind him and whispered in his ear.

"Hey, hombre, see the big guy over there?" He asked, indicating a very fat and tall man with a tattoo on the left side of his face, "He plans on beating you up." He finished.

"Again?" Marco asked, not really caring.

"He'll do it until you die, amigo."

"Well can he wait and kill me after breakfast?" He asked as he was given a tray of food.

It was a very simple meal, if you could call it that: Stale corn tortillas, old ground beef, and some wilted lettuce with a cup of water to drink.

Just as he was served his meal and was making his way toward a table to eat, the tray was knocked out of his hands and onto the ground. Looking up, he found the fat man who his cellmate had mentioned moments ago.

"You are in hell, ese, and I am the devil." He threatened.

"You're not the devil, you're just practice." Marco said before punching the large man in the face. The man reeled back before trying to throw a punch of his own, only for Marco to grab it and counter with a kick to the stomach. Seeing that the large man was in trouble, another inmate ran up and tackled Marco to into the dirt.

Marco quickly got back to his feet and spin-kicked the other inmate in the face, knocking out a couple of teeth. The fat man came running up and tried throwing some more hits but Marco dodged and countered the sloppy attacks. More inmates joined in the fray and while Marco was having some trouble, he still stood strong against the onslaught.

Just as he punched another inmate to the ground, guards surrounded the inmates and Marco and broke up the fight. They then restrained Marco and started to drag him off from the prison yard.

"Where are you taking me?" Marco demanded.

"Solitary confinement." The guard said simply.

"Why?"

"Protection." The guard again said simply.

"I don't need protection!" Marco yelled angrily.

"Not for you, for them." The guard said, pointing to the group of inmates that Marco had just brutally beaten up.

The guards dragged Marco through the halls of the prison until they came to a large metal door. When they opened it, it revealed a small, stone room with nothing but a bed, a barred window, and a small faucet. They threw Marco in carelessly and slammed the door shut behind him.

As Marco inspected his new living arrangements, a voice spoke from behind him.

"Are you so desperate to fight criminals that you lock yourself in prison just to fight them one at a time?" Spoke a male voice.

Turning around, Marco found a man about ten years older than him with brown hair and a goatee, standing against the wall in a very expensive looking suit.

"Actually, there was seven of them." Marco corrected the man.

"I counted six, Mr. Diaz" The man cross corrected.

Marco froze when he heard the man say his name. He turned towards him and looked at him with curiosity, "How do you know my name?" Marco asked.

"The world's too small for someone like Marco Diaz to disappear, no matter how deep he chooses to sink." He answered.

"Who are you?" Marco asked.

"My name is David Xanatos but I speak for a man known as The Hunts Master, a man greatly feared by the criminal underworld. A man who can offer you a path." Xanatos explained.

"What makes you think I need a path?" Marco asked as he turned the wall faucet and took a sip of water.

"Someone like you is only here by choice. You've been exploring the criminal fraternity but, whatever your original intentions, you have become truly lost." Xanatos said.

"... And what path can this 'Hunts Master' offer?" Marco asked after he thought about what David had said.

"The path of a man that shares his hatred of evil and wishes to serve **true** justice. The path of the Hunts Clan."

Marco chuckled at Xanatos' little speech, "Heh heh. What, vigilantes?" He asked.

"No, a vigilante is just man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed or locked up. But, if you were to make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, then you become something else entirely." Xanatos explained with a very subtle passion in his voice.

"Which is..?" Marco asked.

"Legend, Mr. Diaz." Xanatos said simply as he approached the cell door, "You will be released tomorrow. If you grow tired of fighting with petty thieves and actually wish to achieve something, than board a plane to Tibet, travel to the mountains and pick a rare, blue flower that grows along the eastern slopes. Pick this flower and, if you can carry it to the top of mountain, you may find what you have been looking for in the first place." He finished as he knocked on the cell's door.

"And what was it that I was looking for?" Marco asked.

Xanatos turned back towards Marco as the cell door opened, "Only you can know that." He said simply before leaving the room and leaving Marco to think about the offer.

* * *

 **And that is the first chapter of my Bat-Marco AU. Leave a review and tell me what you thought. See you all soon and happy October!**


	2. Tragedy Strikes

**Welcome to the second chapter. Don't forget to leave a review and give your thoughts, it would be much appreciated.**

* * *

 **-A Few Days Later-**

After being let out of prison and boarding a small cargo plane to Tibet, Marco boarded a truck that was going in the direction he was headed. He then jumped off the back of the truck when he came to the eastern slopes of the mountain that Xanatos had mentioned previously. After walking through the snowy mountain for a short while, Marco found a small field of the blue flower that Xanatos spoke of.

 _'I don't know what's so special about this thing.'_ Marco thought, taking a small sniff of it and found that it was odorless, _'Doesn't even smell like anything.'_ He thought as he pinned the flowed to his scarf and began his climb up the mountain.

The trek up the mountain was long and arduous. The winds were strong and the cold snow stung his face, but he continued forward. He soon came to a small village halfway up the mountain. For some odd reason, the people seemed to be afraid of him. He soon figured out that the reason they feared him was cause of the flower he carried. They must've known what it meant.

One villager, an old man, came up to him with a grave look on his face. "Go back," He warned, "There is nothing for you up on the mountain. Go back." He repeated before leaving and going into one of the houses.

Marco chose to ignore the old man's warnings and continue forward.

After several long hours of walking, Marco reached the top of the mountain. There, he found a large, wooden building that looked like a mixture of Japanese and Arabic design. The building looked similar to a traditional Feudal Japanese home, while the roofs looked similar to ones found on Arabic temples.

Walking up to the front door, Marco banged on it with a tired knock. It soon opened with a loud creek that reverberated throughout the building. After the door had opened, he fell to his hands and knees. The inside was surprisingly warm compared to the snowy mountains outside. He looked around him and found the inside looked like a very elaborate dojo. There were wooden training dummies, weights of varying sizes, and many different weapons mounted on the walls around him.

His eyes stopped when he spotted a man sitting on a large thrown in the center of the room. He had an animal fur draped over his shoulders and was wearing what looked like a skull mask over a ski mask. The skull looked like a bull's skull but had teeth and horns. It almost looked like a dragon's skull to Marco but he knew that that was impossible. By the looks of this quite intimidating man, Marco could only guess who it was.

"Hunts Master?" Was all he asked. The moment he said that, over a dozen other men came out from the shadows. Some were wearing fur coats, others were wearing thin-layered clothes, and others were wearing ninja-like outfits, masks included.

"Wait," Came a voice from the crowd. The wall of men split down the middle and moved to the sides, revealing Xanatos standing behind them wearing another suit. It was different to the one he was wearing before, but it still looked quite expensive. Marco got back to his feet as Xanatos stood before him.

"What is it that you seek, Marco?" He asked.

Marco thought about the question and thought harder on the answer. He looked at the ground in thought for a few moments before looking up to Xanatos.

"I seek the means to fight injustice, to turn fear into a weapon against the ones who use fear to prey on the fearful." Marco said with a serious look, more serious than any other time in his life. Xanatos merely looked at him with a stone-cold look, never changing, never blinking. Marco then took out the flower that he was told to bring and gave it to Xanatos. He inspected the flower, twirling it in his index and middle finger.

Xanatos then turned to the Hunts Master and showed him the flower. The Hunts Master then spoke in a language that Marco didn't recognize. It sounded Arabic, but he wasn't completely sure. After he was finished talking, Xanatos turned back to Marco and spoke, translating what his master had just said.

"To manipulate the fear in others, you must first master your own. Are you ready to begin?" He asked.

"But... But I can barely stand." Marco said, breathing heavily.

"Death does not **wait** for you to be ready!" He exclaimed, kicking Marco in the chest and knocking him flat on his back, "Death doesn't consider it warfare!" He continued, kicking Marco while he's down, "And make no mistake, here you face **DEATH**!" He yelled, throwing another kick, only to be caught by Marco as he recovered.

Marco pushed Xanatos' leg away and got to his feet. Marco then got into a fighting with his fingers tucked in but his palms were open, "Tiger." Xanatos said, recognizing the form. Marco tried striking but Xanatos blocked each strike. Breaking away from the fight for a second, Marco readjusted himself and took a new stance.

This one had him standing on his right leg with his left tucked to his hip and his arms were above his head like spread wings.

"Crane." Xanatos said with a smirk, recognizing this form as well. Marco spun about and delivered a series of high- and low-kicks but Xanatos dodged and countered them with ease. Xanatos knocked Marco to the ground with a sweep kick but he rolled out of the way before he could deliver a follow-up.

Marco got back to his feet and tried another new stance. He was bent over slightly with his hands bent down at the wrist and his fingers were together like spears.

"Praying Mantis." Marco said, saying the style this time. Marco's strikes were fast and agile but Xanatos still managed to block his attacks. Even though he got a couple of shots in, Marco was still beaten. Delivering a hard blow to the ribs, Xanatos threw Marco onto the ground where he took in deep, labored breaths, exhausted from the fight.

"You are afraid, Marco, but not of me. Tell me, what is it that you fear?" Xanatos asked, looking down at Marco with curiosity.

* * *

 **-Twelve Years Ago, Echo Creek-  
**

Marco lay cowering at the bottom of the hole he had fallen through as the last few bats flew away. His eyes were closed shut, afraid to open them again with tears threatening to escape.

"Marco." He heard a familiar voice say. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw that the light from the hole was blocked slightly but soon found that the light was illuminating the form of his father, Rafael Diaz. He was being lowered into the hole by a rope tied to his waist. Rafael reached out and held his hand around Marco's wrist comfortingly.

"It's okay, Marco. It's okay." He said, softly reassuring him. After getting out of the hole, they were both joined by the family butler, Stanford "Ford" Pines.

"Should we take him to the doctor, sir?" He asked as they headed back towards the house with Rafael carrying Marco in his arms.

"I'll have Angie set the bone and we'll go and get an x-ray later." Mr. Diaz answered.

As they were nearing the front door, they saw Jackie and her mother standing to the side of the path, a look of sadness in Jackie's eyes. Marco reached into his pocket and handed its contents to Jackie. She looked at her hand and found the arrowhead from earlier. Somehow, this made her feel both worse and better at the same time.

"That was quite a fall, Marco." Ford observed.

"And why do we fall?" Rafael asked, "So we can pick ourselves up." He answered.

* * *

 **-One Week Later-**

Marco awoke with a start. Ever since that day he had been suffering a recurring nightmare of the bats swarming at him and every time he'd wake up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He then heard a knock at his door. Looking up, he saw his parents standing in the doorway, looking at him with comforting smiles.

"Was it the bats again?" His father asked. Marco nodded his head slowly while looking at his covers, somewhat ashamed of his fear. His parents came over and sat down at the foot of his bed.

"You know why they attacked you, don't you?" His mother asked. Marco shook his head, not knowing the answer. "It was because they were afraid of you." His mother finished.

"Afraid of me?" Marco asked, confused.

"Of course, mijo, all creatures feel fear." His father said.

"Even the scary ones?" Marco asked with a growing smile.

" _Especially_ the scary ones." His mother said, kissing him on the forehead, making his smile grow larger.

"We have news too, mijo." His dad spoke up.

"What is it?" Marco asked.

"Your mother and I talked it over and we were thinking of going to the movies tonight."

"Really?!" Marco asked excitedly. It wasn't often that they went to the movies, but when they did, it was a good one.

"We thought you'd like that." His father said with a smile.

"We're going tonight. But first, _you_ have to get out of bed." His mother said, poking him and causing him to laugh. After a few minutes, Marco conceded and got up and dressed.

* * *

 **-Later That Evening-**

Marco and his parents were riding on the city monorail line, headed for midtown. They were dressed in nice clothing with him and his father dressed in suits and ties with their mother in a nice dress and wearing a pearl necklace. As the train rode along, Marco turned to his parents.

"So did you build this train, dad?" He asked.

"Well, not me personally, but I did help design it. Echo Creek has been good to us, but the rest of the city has been suffering." He said, sounding forlorn.

"People less fortunate than ourselves have been suffering very hard times, so your father and I donated money to build a cheap, affordable public transit to unite the city. And at the center of it all: Diaz Tower." His mother said, pointing out the window as the tower came into view.

"Is that where you two work?" Marco asked.

"Oh no, I work at City Hall and your mother works down at the hospital. We leave the running of the company to much... better men." Rafael explained.

"Better?" Marco asked, confused.

"Well, more interested men." Rafael rephrased.

The train soon came to a stop and the family got off. They soon arrived at the Orpheum, an amazing theater with brilliant interior architecture and amazing design. It had three levels of seating and VIP balconies. Marco and his parents took their seats on the top floor where they looked over the whole theater. Marco couldn't help but feel excited as the opening credits began to roll for the movie, The Mask of Zorro.

* * *

 **-2 Hours Later-**

The Diaz walked out of the theater with Marco jumping about with excitement, still amazed by the film he had just seen. He was jumping about, swinging an imaginary sword about.

"En garde, villain!" He said excitedly, "Hey dad, can I get a sword someday?"

"Only if you promise to take lessons as well." His father said.

"Rafael." Mrs. Diaz said sternly.

"Oh, relax Angie." He said, putting an arm around his wife. Looking into her husbands eyes, she began to relax and leaned against him. Their happy moment was quickly shattered when a man came out of the shadows of an alley and pulled a gun on the family.

"Give me your money!" He said. They froze in place as they looked at the man, his face was rough with a very scruffy beard and had long, unkempt blonde hair. He was wearing black gloves and he looked incredibly nervous.

"Didn't you hear me? I said give me your money!" He repeated.

"Okay, just stay calm. Here's all I have on me." Rafael said, taking out his wallet and giving the mugger the money. The mugger looked at the money quickly before turning to Mrs. Diaz.

"And the pearls." He said, aiming the gun at her and gesturing toward the pearl necklace that she had on.

"Okay, just-" Rafael was saying, moving toward his wife but then the mugger aimed the gun at him.

"Don't move!" He yelled.

"Alright just calm- ***BANG*** " He said before he was cut off by the gun firing. Mrs. Diaz screamed at the sight before the mugger snatched the pearls off her neck and she too was gunned down. The couple fell to the ground as the thief ran off into the night, leaving a scarred Marco kneeling next to his dying parents with tears in his eyes. He moved toward his father and looked at him sadly.

"D-Dad?" He asked, his voice breaking.

"Marco?" His father said, turning towards his son, "Marco... don't be scared. Promise me... don't be scared." He said, before going limp. Marco just knelt there, tears beginning to fall from his eyes as he held onto his parents' dead hands.

* * *

 **-An Hour Later, Echo Creek Police Station-**

Marco sat in a chair in an office as officers were rushing around the precinct. There were reporters outside the office door, trying to get an interview with the now orphaned billionaire's son. He just sat in the chair, staring at the ground as the sounds of the station became muffled in his ears, clutching the jacket that had belonged to his now dead father.

He was soon broken from his thoughts when he felt a hand tap his shoulder. Looking up, he saw an officer looking down at him with a smile, trying to look comforting. He was a young-ish looking Hispanic man, probably in his mid-twenties, slightly chubby and had a sort of clean cut hairstyle like they have in the military.

"Hey, I'm Officer Vallejo." He introduced himself, "Was this your dad's?" He asked. Marco didn't answer him but he gave a warm smile, "Here." He said, taking the coat from him and putting it over Marco's shoulders. It was a small act, but a comforting one none the less.

"Listen," He said, putting his hand on Marco's shoulder, "Everything is gonna be alright, okay?" He said. Marco gave a slight nod at this as the door to the office opened, revealing the police commissioner.

"Vallejo." He said. The officer acknowledged him and left, leaving the two alone. The commissioner walked over to Marco and looked at him with as warm a look as he could manage.

"Good news. We got him, son." He said.

* * *

 **And that is the second chapter down. Hope you guys are enjoying it. If you guys noticed, the officer that talked to Marco is none other than Horatio Vallejo from the classic Disney series, Fillmore. Also, I included David Xanatos from the classic 90's cartoon, Gargoyles. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review and tell me what you thought and I will see you all next time.**


	3. Justice and Revenge

**So I've included a lot of different characters from different shows in the past two chapters (i.e. Ford Pines, Xanatos, and The Hunts Master) and believe me when I say, they won't be the last. With that out of the way, on with the story!**

* * *

 **-10 Years Later, Diaz Mansion-  
**

Marco entered through the front doors of his childhood home. It had been ten years since the death of his parents and two years since he last set foot in this vast house. He had been attending university for the past two years. He would rather not be here but it was a matter of personal business that he came home.

"Marco, you're home." Came the old, familiar voice of Marco's caretaker, Ford. Although he was hired as a butler and did the duties of one, he never acted like one nor was he treated as one. Sure, he could be polite when he needs to be but when there isn't some fancy dress party being held, he acted more casual and not straight-laced. Because of this, Marco and his parents treated him more like a family friend rather than a servant.

"Hey, Ford." Marco said with a smile, hugging the older man.

"Will you be staying long?" He asked.

"Only until some business is done." Marco responded.

"So, how's it been at Cal Tech?" Ford asked after they broke away and headed up the stairs to the upper level of the house.

"Oh I have no problem with it. They, however, don't care for me too much." Marco said with a very light chuckle.

Ford laughed slightly at it as well as they continued up the steps, "I've set up the master bedroom for you if that's alright."

Marco's face grew serious when he heard this, "My old room will be just fine, Ford." He said simply.

"Marco, I insist. This **is** your house."

"No, it was parents' house. If I could, I would destroy this whole place. Brick-by-brick if I have to." Marco said angrily, walking ahead of Ford.

"Marco," Ford said sternly, causing Marco to stop and look back at him, still with an angered face, "Your father left this house to you, the least you could do is respect his dead wish."

Marco just looked at him for a minute before turning back around and continuing forward, "I'll be staying in my old room." He said simply. Ford just let out a small sigh as he turned around and went down the stairs.

* * *

Marco stood in his old room. It seemed so much smaller than it used to. He placed his suit case down on his bed and opened it. He moved a few articles of clothing aside and revealed the one thing he never thought he'd use: A Gun. It was a small revolver that fit in the palm of his hand. Even though it was small, it felt so heavy in his hand.

A knock came from the door, making Marco jump. Quickly putting the gun back into his suitcase and closing it, he turned to the door and put on a calm face.

"Come in." He called. The door opened and Ford stuck his head through, "What's up, Ford?"

"I came to tell you that Miss Lynn-Thomas is downstairs." Ford said, giving a bit of a smirk.

"Jackie?" Marco asked. He was surprised. He hadn't seen Jackie for some time, coming on nearly three years. He left his room and went downstairs. He came to the kitchen and found her looking through the kitchen cupboards with her back to him. Marco gave a smile when he saw his old childhood friend. She had really changed from when they were kids. Although she still had her short, blonde hair, she had a really nice figure and had a nice tan. She looked a lot like a surfer and it surprises people when others told them that she was in fact a lawyer. Well, future lawyer.

Marco remembered when they were growing up that she did such activities such as surfing and skateboarding, but when they were leaving for college she decided to get serious and began to study law. She was currently wearing a business suit with a skirt that just passes her knees. Marco soon broke himself out of his memories and spoke up.

"Ford keeps the gingersnaps on the top shelf of the pantry." He said, causing Jackie to jump and turn around but she quickly relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Marco." She said, walking over and giving him a hug, which he gladly reciprocated.

"How have you been, Jackie?" He asked after they broke away from their hug and she walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a bag of cookies from the top shelf and placing them on the kitchen island.

"Things have been good actually. I got myself an internship at the DA's office and I might be able to get a job there after I graduate." She said as she went to the fridge and took out a carton of milk and poured to glasses for herself and Marco.

They both reached their hands into the bag and took out a handful of gingersnaps each and began to dunk them in the milk. They had done this since they were kids, milk and cookies and talking about whatever. After a short time though, they ran out of any subjects that they could think of until Jackie decided to talk about the one subject she didn't want to talk about. The reason that they were both here.

"Look, Marco, I don't suppose there's any chance of me convincing you not to come to the hearing?" She started.

"Someone has to stand for my parents" Marco said, facing growing serious and his tone bitter.

"I know that what Evans did was unforgivable-"

"Then why is your boss letting him go?" Marco cut her off.

"He shared a jail cell with Luigi Donovan, **the** biggest crime boss in Echo Creek, and he was willing to testify against him for early parole." Jackie tried to reason.

"Jackie," Marco started, "This guy killed my parents, I can't let that stand. Just tell me that you understand that?" Marco said in an almost pleading tone. Jackie just stared into his eyes for a minute without speaking a word.

"Okay." She said finally before they finished their snack.

* * *

 **-Echo Creek Courthouse-**

"And while the economic recession had effected many, it effected people such as Mr. Evans more so," The DA said, pleading Evans' case to the judge, "He did what he did, not out of greed, but out of desperation. And because of the ten years he has already spent in prison, we believe that that and the exchange for information on Luigi "Ludo" Donovan is enough for parole. Thank you."

"Does the defendant have anything to say?" The judge asked.

Evans stood up from his chair and cleared his throat a bit before speaking, "Your honor, there isn't a day goes by that I don't regret what I had done. Sure, I was desperate, but that doesn't excuse my actions." He said before sitting back down.

"I also understand that there is a member of the Diaz family here today. Would he like to say anything?" The judge asked.

Marco stood up from his seat. There was silence for a couple of moments until he just left the room, not saying a word. After leaving the courtroom, he ran outside. He just leaned against one of the courthouse's columns and took in deep breaths. After calming his nerves, he dawned a serious look. Reaching into his coat pocket, Marco pulled out the small revolver and checked over the bullets before pulling back the hammer and hiding it up his sleeve.

He heard the crowd of reporters crowd around the steps of the courthouse as Evans exited the building. Marco was walking toward him, his eyes burning through his skull. He was gonna do it, he was gonna get the revenge he so desperately wanted. That was until-

"Hey, Evens," Called out a woman from the crowd, "Ludo says 'Hi'." She said before shooting him point blank in the chest, sending him to the ground. The police tackled the woman to the ground and subdued her as the reporters ran screaming. All Marco could do was just stand there frozen as he watched the man he was going to kill bleed out on the ground. He soon felt a hand on his arm and he turned to see Jackie.

"Come on, Marco, you don't need to see this." She said and left. Marco continued staring at the dying Evan's for a minute longer before following Jackie to her car.

* * *

 **-Jackie's Car, Half an Hour Later-**

The two drove along in silence, neither one really knowing what to say after what they had just witnessed. Finally, Jackie spoke up.

"The DA couldn't understand why the judge wanted to make the hearing public. Seems that Ludo payed him off so he could get Evans out in the open."

"Maybe I should be thanking him." Marco said bitterly.

"You don't mean that, Marco." Jackie said.

"What if I do, Jackie? My parents deserved justice."

"Yeah? Well what you're talking about isn't justice. What you're talking about is revenge."

"Sometimes they're the same." Marco tried reasoning.

"No, Marco, they're never the same," Jackie retorted, "Justice is about fairness, revenge is about making yourself feel better. It's why we have due process and fair trials."

"Yeah? Well guess what, Jackie, your system's broken." Marco said angrily. Jackie then made a sudden turn, pushing Marco against his door. She drove them into a back alley where they saw dozens of homeless people living on the street.

"You care about justice? Look beyond your own problems, Marco, and see what's right in front of you. Ludo is flooding the streets with drugs, crime, and fear. Preying on the weak and making more John Evans' everyday. Ludo may not have killed your parents, Marco, but he's destroying everything that they stood for." She finished before stopping her car in front of some restaurant, "If you think you should thank him, go ahead, he's right in there. Everyone knows where to find him, but as long as he keeps the bad rich and the good poor, no one can touch him. People like your parents would've stood against him, they were a few of the good ones."

Marco looked at the restaurant and then back to Jackie with sadness evident in his eyes, "I'm not one of your good ones, Jackie." He said.

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked confused. To answer her question, Marco simply pulled out the gun from his sleeve and showed it to her. Jackie was confused by this at first but soon understood why he had the gun and what he originally planned to do with it. She didn't say a word. Instead, she slapped Marco across the cheek. Marco didn't even react to it, he simply sat there with a blank stare. He felt he deserved that.

"Your father would be disappointed in you." was all Jackie said. Looking at her, Marco saw a look that told him she meant it. Having nothing to say, Marco opened the passenger-side door and got out of the car, walking away.

Marco walked for what felt like hours until he came to the pier. He stared out into the bay as boats passed by. He looked down at the gun in his hands, memories flashing before his eyes of that tragic night ten years ago. He felt his anger flare as he remembered the gun going off and the muzzle flashing before he threw the gun into the water as hard as he could.

He then made his way back to the restaurant to confront the reptile of a man, Ludo. He entered the place and looked around for a moment before spotting the mob boss sitting in a booth by himself, enjoying a plate of tortellini. He walked toward him but was stopped by a bodyguard who began to pat him down. Toffee looked up from his meal to see who came to see him and was a bit surprised to see who it was.

"You know you're a lot taller in person than the paper makes you out to be, Mr. Diaz. And no gun? I'm a bit insulted." He said with a smirk as Marco sat down opposite him. Ludo was an older man, about mid-forties with a bald head and a long nose. He looked almost like a bird. So much so that his nickname back when he was just a mob enforcer was Falcon because he was a bird of prey. He had a very calm attitude but had a very serious demeanor that demanded authority.

"If you wanted to thank me, you're welcome." He said, taking a sip of wine.

"I didn't come to thank you, I came to show you that not everyone in this city is afraid of you." Marco said with a glare.

"Obviously, you don't know who you're talking to, Mr. Diaz. Look around you, you'll see two judges, three off-duty cops, and a union official," He pointed out before taking out a small pistol, "And I wouldn't have a moment's hesitation to shooting you square in the face right in front of them. That, my boy, is power that you can't buy. **That** is the power of fear."

"... I'm not afraid of you." Marco said after a bit of hesitation.

"That's because you think you have nothing to lose. But you haven't thought it through. You haven't thought about your little girlfriend down at the DA's office. You didn't think about your butler. Bang!" He exclaimed, pulling the trigger to emphasize his point and showing that the pistol wasn't even loaded.

"People like you have so much to lose. Now, you think just 'cause your mom and dad got shot, you've tasted the bitterness of life, but you haven't. You don't know what it's like to be desperate. You're Marco Diaz, prince of Echo Creek, you have to go to another country just to find someone who didn't know who you were. So don't come down here with your anger and your sadness and try and prove something. This will always be someplace you will always fear and never understand. And you always fear what you never understand. Get rid of him." He finished as a bodyguard grabbed Marco by the arm and pulled him out of the booth and out the restaurant.

"Oh, and Diaz," Ludo started and the guard turned him around so he could see, "In prison, Evans told me about the night he killed your parents. He told me your father begged for mercy. Begged, like a dog." He said, giving a toothy grin and showing of sharp teeth. Marco felt his blood boil at his insult as he was dragged out and thrown into the streets, landing in a puddle.

Marco just lied there for a minute, letting what Toffee said sink in. He then got to his feet and brushed any dirt off himself. He began to walk away from the restaurant into the alleyways. He walked for a few minutes until he came upon a hobo warming himself by a barrel fire. Looking at the hobo and then the fire, Marco approached. He took out his wallet and took out all the money and gave it to the hobo.

"What for?" He asked confused.

"Your jacket." Marco answered simply. The hobo didn't really object as he removed his jacket and gave it to Marco as he gave him the money. Marco then threw his wallet into the barrel fire and removed his coat and was about to do the same.

"Wait, let me have the coat at least?" The hobo asked. Marco looked at the poor man and gave him his coat.

Marco then put on the hobo's jacket and left him. Marco soon found himself at the pier once again that evening and spotted a ship headed for Mexico. If Toffee thought he didn't know what it was like to feel desperate, he'll prove him wrong and live like the desperate live. Stowing away aboard the ship, Marco began his journey.

* * *

 **And there's the latest chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys thought.**


	4. Training To Be More

**And here's the next chapter of the story. If any of you've noticed, I'm mostly following the story of Batman Begins. However, I'm merely following this as sort of a guideline because I felt that it had the best version of Batman's origin story. After that, I will be following many different story lines from different mediums (i.e. Movies, Comics, and Cartoons). With that out of the way, on with the chapter.**

* * *

 **-Next Day-**

Marco stirred from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted as they adjusted to the light of the early morning that shone though his room's window. He felt the cold wind blow and he shivered, remembering where he was. He lay in a small cot in the monastery; they must've put him in it after he passed out from exhaustion. He soon heard a knock come from his door. Not even waiting for an answer, the door opened and David walked in.

"Oh good, you're awake. Get dressed, your training begins today." He said, tossing a set of clean clothes at Marco and leaving. Marco looked at the clothes and found that it was a set of black linen clothes, similar to what a ninja would wear. Wanting to be rid of the clothes he was still wearing from the day prior, which were wet from the melted snow, Marco got up from his cot and changed.

After changing into his new clothes, Marco left his room and followed a hallway until he came to the main room. He found dozens of people in outfits similar to what he was wearing doing various training exercises like weight lifting, rope climbing, and sparring. As he looked at his surroundings, David walked up behind him.

"Are you ready to begin?" He asked.

Marco looked at him and a look of confidence and seriousness grew on his face, "Where do we start?" was all he asked.

* * *

Marco walked with David around the training area, getting a good look at the various exercises going on. They soon stopped under a rafter and David turned towards Marco.

"You have talent, Marco. You are able to disappear. Here, you will learn how to become truly invisible." He said.

"Invisible?" Marco asked with slight confusion.

"Now." David ordered. Suddenly, a figure dropped from the rafter next t0o David and Marco. Marco was slightly surprised but David stood strong. The figure was another ninja. However, this one had a mask on and its outfit had a sort of gold trim around its edges.

"This is Ta-er al-Safar, she will be the one to train you while you're here." David explained.

"She?" Marco asked. David nodded at Ta-er al-Safar and she nodded back. She grabbed her mask and removed it, revealing her face. She was an Asian girl that was about Marco's age, maybe a couple years younger. She had brown eyes and hair that was tied in a single ponytail. Even though she didn't look that tough, Marco could see in her eyes that she has been through a lot.

"Try not to be to hard on him." David said with a chuckle before leaving.

"Wait, I thought you were gonna train me. I'm not gonna fight a girl." Marco said.

"Funny, I was about to say the same." Ta-er al-Safar said with a smirk.

"You know, just cause your a girl doesn't mean I'll-"

"Training begins now!" She said quickly before roundhouse kicking Marco in the face and knocking him to the floor, "You weren't ready." She said simply as Marco groaned in pain.

* * *

Marco and Ta-er began their training soon after Marco picked himself up. Needless to say, the training was long and difficult, often times leaving Marco's muscles sore at the end of the day.

Over the passing months, Marco learned many different skills, such as how to use explosive powders in combat to trick and frighten his opponents. He learned new martial arts forms and improved upon the forms he already knew. He even learned how to use stealth, becoming quieter than a feather on the wind and darker than shadow.

Today, he was being taught wisdom in combat. He and Ta-er stood on a frozen-over lake with swords drawn. They took very light steps as they circled around each other, the ice cracking slightly with each step. They stared each other down. Finally, just as a wind blew across the ice, they lunged forward at each other and locked their blades.

Marco's strikes were strong but still had a level of speed to them while Ta-er's strikes were lighter but almost twice as fast Marco's. Both were able to block each others strikes as they continued to fight on the unstable lake. As their blades crossed again, Ta-er spoke.

"Tell me, who do you fight for, Mr. Diaz?" She asked.

"Myself." Marco answered.

"Than you've already lost this fight!" She said firmly, breaking away from him and clashing their swords again. She then twirled her sword around and knocked Marco's sword out of his hand. She then ducked and sweep-kicked him, knocking him on his back. Marco attempted to get back to his feet but she had her sword right at his neck.

"If you don't fight for a cause or for others, than you have no reason to be one of us." She said bitterly. Marco looked up at her and saw that look in her eyes, it was a look of hurt, a look he was all too familiar with.

"What do you fight for?" Marco asked.

Ta-er had a look of sadness as she looked down at him, "... Someone who I could never be with."

Suddenly, Marco sweep-kicked her and she fell on her back. While she was trying to get back to her feet, Marco flipped over her, narrowly avoiding her sword, and slid toward his own sword. Just as Ta-er was back to her feet and about to strike, Marco had his blade at her throat with a serious look in his eye.

"Give up." He ordered. Ta-er did not show fear nor did she flinch, she merely stood there with a smirk.

"Not bad, though you forgot about one thing." She said.

"And what's that?" Marco asked.

"You gave up your footing for a killing blow." She pointed out before stomping on the ice, causing Marco to fall right through into the icy water.

* * *

 **-Half an hour later, Dusk-**

Marco shivered under a blanket while Ta-er tended to a campfire. Marco rubbed his shoulders, trying to get warm.

"Rub your chest, your arms can take care of themselves." She advised. Marco tried it and sure enough, he began to feel the difference. The two just sat in silence for a while until Marco finally broke it.

"I've been meaning to ask," He started, getting Ta-er's attention, "Your name, what does it mean?"

She stayed quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath and exhaling, "It's Arabic, it means Yellow Bird or Canary. When we become full members of the Hunt's Clan, we are given new names to replace our old ones." She explained.

"Really? Does the Hunts Master have a name?" Marco asked curiously.

"Yes, his name is Ra's al Ghul, The Demon's Head." She explained.

'That would explain the skull mask,' Marco thought, "What was your name before it was changed?"

"Sashi. Sashi Kobayashi." She said.

Marco gave a small smile at this. Somehow, knowing her real name made her more human to him, not just the strong warrior he had come to know during his time here.

"You mind if I call you that instead?" He asked. Sashi looked at him. He had a friendly look in his eyes, a look she hasn't seen in sometime.

"Sure." She said, a small smile growing across her lips.

* * *

 **-Three Months Later-**

Marco stood in the center of the main room, surrounded by other members of the Hunts Clan. The Hunts Master looked down from a balcony at Marco. David soon walked toward Marco and looked him in the eyes.

"You've traveled far to understand the criminal mind and conquer your fears," He spoke as he took out the blue flower that Marco had brought with him when he came here and put it in a small mortar and began to grind it with a pestle, "But, a criminal is not complicated. What you truly fear is inside yourself. You fear your own power and you fear your rage, the drive to do great or terrible things." He explained. He then lit the crushed flower on fire with a candle and poured some kind of powder into the bowl. He then gave the bowl to Marco, "Breath" was all he said.

Marco looked at David and then at the bowl. He leaned his head down into the smoke and took in deep breath. "Breath," David encouraged, "Breath in your fears." At that moment, Marco felt fear flow through his body and soul. He remembered that day all those years ago. The bats swarming around him, his parents being gunned down before his eyes.

"To conquer fear, you must first become fear. You must bask in the fear of others. And others fear most that which they cannot see." David said, putting on his mask and walking into the gathering of Hunts Clan members and disappearing into the crowd.

Marco dawned his mask as well and slowly walked forward into the crowd. He felt dazed, like he wasn't fully in control of his body. He looked into the eyes of the other Hunts Clan members. For some strange reason, they had glowing, purple eyes. An effect of the flower perhaps?

"You must become a terrible thought." David's voice spoke from nowhere. Suddenly, the warriors drew their weapons and parted in perfect sync, all taking identical stances, "A wraith." He finished. Marco drew his sword and tread cautiously, keeping his eyes open.

"You have to become an idea!" David exclaimed, appearing from the crowd and striking at Marco with his sword. Marco defended himself but before he could counter, the warriors changed formation and David blended in with the crowd once again.

"Feel the fear cloud your senses. Feel its power to distort; to control," the crowd changed again, "And know that this power can be yours." At the end of one of the lines, Marco could spot one of the weapons moving and not holding the stance. Thinking fast Marco lined up with the others and blended in himself.

David walked through the crowd of people and scanned each of them. All of a sudden, Marco broke from the ranks and swung his sword at David. He blocked his attacks but before Marco could get a hit in the formation changed again and David disappeared. As Marco looked about his surroundings, the formation changed again, forming a line between himself and some kind of chest on a pedestal.

"Embrace your worst fear." David's voice spoke from nowhere again. Marco slowly approached the chest, "Become darkness." David spoke again. Marco placed his hand on the chest and slowly opened it before a swarm of bats flew out of it and right at him. Marco struggled to stay calm but he couldn't. He was kneeling on the ground, watching as the bats flew around him.

"Focus," He heard David say, "Concentrate," Marco took in a deep breath and began to get to his feet. He looked around him, "Master your senses." He heard David say, sounding close. Acting quickly, Marco turned and blocked David's blade and countered but David managed to cut Marco across the arm before the crowd's formation change once more.

Marco looked at his wound before looking about, trying to think of a plan. Acting fast, he began to cut other members of the crowd, giving them identical injuries to himself. He then hid in the crowd and took up their form. Marco then spots one of them that had broken ranks heading in his direction. The man spots the cut on one of the warriors and put his sword to his neck. He removes his mask to reveal David.

"You mustn't leave any traces." He said.

"I didn't." Marco replied, holding his sword to the back of David's neck with a smirk. David couldn't help but smile at Marco's trick as well. They heard clapping coming from above them. Looking up, they saw the Hunts Master applauding their performance.

"Very good, most impressive." He praised.

* * *

 **And that is another chapter down and another brick off the Jenga pile. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys thought. Seriously, any critiques would help me greatly.**


	5. Nothing But Ashes

Marco and Xanatos stood together before a large gathering of the other Hunts Clan members. After Marco's impressive demonstration of his skills in the ways of the shadow warrior, the Hunts Master has decided that Marco was finally ready to become a true member of the Hunts Clan.

Marco felt a sense of pride as he stood with his friend before their brothers and sisters in arms. He looked behind him and saw the rows of Hunts Clan warriors wearing their ninja attire. Even though she was wearing her mask, Marco could see Sashi standing among the front row. He saw her glance at him for just a second before looking forward again.

Marco turned his attention forward when the Hunts Master walked out and stood before him and Xanatos. He took a metal rod from a small fire pit that provided heat and light to the room. The rod glowed bright red from staying in the depths of the fire. Upon further inspection, Marco saw that at the end of the rod there was a kind of symbol, a serpent with shard teeth and scaled wings. A dragon. The Hunts Master merely looked at the glowing piece of iron, looking at how its heated end glowed in the dimly lit then replaced the rod in the fire and looked to Marco.

Marco stood strong against his admittedly intimidating master. "You have done well, Marco. During your time here among us you have conquered your fears and become a weapon for righteous vengeance." He said as he paced in front of Marco and David with his hands behind his back. "From this day forward, you will be known by your new name: Xuffaaš, The Bat."

Marco felt both a sense of irony and pride in his new name. The irony comes from his fear of the animal and the pride coming from what he has done to gain this new name. He felt a sense of accomplishment.

"However," The Hunts Master continued, regaining Marco's attention, "You must complete one final test before you can fully become one of us." He finished before snapping his fingers.

A few seconds later, two Hunts Clan members came out, carrying with them a middle-aged man in chains, panicking and struggling against their grip. The man was a local, probably came from the village down the mountain. His clothes were ragged and dirty and there were signs of a beating on his face and body. They knelt him down next to the Hunts Master and in front of Marco.

"You must kill this man." The Hunts Master said firmly. Marco was surprised by this order. He looked to Xanatos and saw a serious look on his face that told him that the Hunts Master was in no way joking.

"Why?" Marco asked.

"Because he is a murderer." Xanatos answered, "He was a farmer from the village who desired more land and took the life of his fellow man to get it."

"But it isn't right, he should be put on trial." Marco tried to argue.

"This man is a murderer, Marco. He killed out of greed like the man who killed your parents." Xanatos said firmly.

"This is the way of the Hunts Clan, Mr. Diaz, we kill those who have become corrupted by greed." The Hunts Master explained, "We have done this for centuries; and make no mistake, we plan to continue our ways, starting with the city of Echo."

"What?!" Marco exclaimed.

"Echo has become a cesspool of crime and corruption. Like Rome and Constantinople before it, Echo will fall. When a forest grows too large, a cleansing fire will restore balance; and as Echo's favored son, you shall return and lead an army against it."

"You're gonna destroy millions of lives." Marco stated firmly.

"Only a cynical man would call what these people have 'lives,' Diaz." The Hunts Master retorted, "Crime, despair... this is not how man was supposed to live. The Hunts Clan has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years. We sacked Rome, loaded trade ships with plague rats, burned London to the ground. Every time a civilization reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance."

"Marco, it's the only way, do what is necessary." Xanatos said softly. Marco looked to his friend and then down at the prisoner. He took a deep breath before drawing his sword and putting it to the back of the man's neck. The man was shaking in fear aa he looked up at his executioner.

"I'm sorry." Marco said softly. But instead of killing the man, Marco quickly knocked the metal rod from the torch, sending it flying across the room.

"What are you doing?!" Xanatos yelled.

"What's necessary, friend." Marco said. The glowing hot iron flew across the room and landed in a pile of explosive powder, causing it to blow-up instantly and causing a fire to spread rapidly throughout the dojo.

"Kill him!" The Hunts Master yelled furiously. Members of the clan drew their weapons and charged at Marco, who drew his weapon and prepared for the fight. Marco clashed with three members and blocked and parried their attacks with ease. After blocking one's slash, Marco countered with a hard knee to the stomach and continuing with a punch to the face.

He turned around quickly and blocked the other two's attacks. He pushed one of them back with a shoulder to the chest and focusing on the other. The Hunts Clan member swung his sword at Marco but Marco blocked it with his gauntlet's triangle blades and countered with a hard strike to the his opponent's nose, breaking it in the process.

As he shook his hand after the hard blow, he failed to notice the third Hunts Clan member sneaking up behind him. The member raised his sword, prepared to strike Marco down.

"Marco! Look out!" Came a voice behind him. Marco turned and found none other than Sashi jumping out from nowhere and blocking the member's sword with a metal Bo staff. She then knocked the sword back before spinning around and kicking her opponent in the stomach and finishing off with a hard strike from her Bo staff to the side of her opponent's head.

After taking down her opponent, Sashi turned to Marco.

"You need to mind your surroundings." She said with a small smirk. A small smile grew on Marco's face at his friend's help but that feeling was short-lived when another cask of explosive powder blew-up. They both nodded to each other, silently telling each other that they had to go. They ran through the burning dojo, quickly taking down any enemies who tried to attack them. Marco then remembered something important and grabbed Sashi by the shoulder.

"We have to go back and find David." He told his friend and mentor.

"There's no time, this place will come down any minute!" Sashi argued.

"We can't leave him." He said firmly. Sashi saw the serious look in her friend's eyes and sighed before agreeing and running back the way they came. It didn't take them long to find Xanatos; he was trapped under a pile of debris, unconscious but still alive. Grabbing one side each, Marco and Sashi lifted the debris with all their strength. Moving it easily, Marco and Sashi grabbed Xanatos by the arms and slung them over their shoulders before making their way out of the burning building.

They were nearly out when suddenly, the Hunts Master leaped from the ceiling wielding a spear, letting out a war cry as he did. Marco and Sashi split up as he came down between them. The Hunts Master turned to Marco and although his face was mostly covered, Marco could see the fury in his eyes.

"You. You've ruined everything! And you!" He yelled, turning to Sashi, who still had Xanatos slung over her shoulder, "You're a traitor, and for your treachery, you shall both parish!" He said as he swung his spear around before thrusting it at Marco, who quickly sidestepped and attempted to counter with a kick to the chest but was blocked by the Hunts Master's forearm. The Hunts Master then countered with a powerful palm strike that sent Marco sliding back and falling to his back.

Sashi set Xanatos down and drew her Bo staff and charged at her former master while his back was turned. She brought her staff down on his head but before it made contact, he turned around and stopped it with his hand. He then grabbed farther down the staff with his other hand and threw her over his head, causing her to land on her back next to Marco.

They both sat up and tried to shake off their injuries before looking back at the Hunts Master, who slowly approached them, as if savoring their defeat at his hands.

"Two of our greatest, The Bat and The Canary; time to clip your wings." He spoke a haiku in a menacing voice before raising his spear to strike them down. As he did though, Marco and Sashi heard wood creaking. Looking up, they saw that a rafter behind the Hunts Master was about to give way from fire damage.

Looking to each other, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing, they gave each other a subtle nod before jumping to their feet and rocketing forward and tackling the Hunts Master in the chest, knocking him backwards. As he readjusted himself from the hit, he looked up and saw the rafter break apart and fall, causing him to let out a cry of terror as it came down on top of him, crushing and burying him under a pile of burning rubble.

Seeing that their enemy was defeated, Sashi ran over to Xanatos so they could all get out of there. But just before she could reach him, an explosion went off, sending her flying through one of the monastery's windows.

"SASHI!" Marco yelled in horror, as he saw his friend get caught in the explosion. Knowing that there was no time to mourn her, Marco ran to Xanatos and threw him over his shoulder before making his way toward the exit.

The building was coming down around him, there was no time to get to the door before the whole thing came down. He entered a hallway and saw a window at the end of it. seeing as how there were few, if any, other options, Marco began running as fast as he could with Xanatos' unconscious body toward the window. Jut as the final casks of explosive powder went off, Marco and Xanatos broke through the window and fell through the air until they hit the cold snow of the mountain side. Marco managed to stop himself but noticed that Xanatos, being unconscious, was sliding down the side of the mountain with no way of stopping.

Not going to let another of his friends die that day, Marco gave chase and slid down the icy mountain after him. He justy managed to catch up and get a good hold of Xanatos just as they were going over the edge of a cliff. Using one of his gauntlet's triangle blades to anchor himself in the ice while his other hand was holding onto Xanatos, Marco stopped the two's decent.

The sudden stop and strain on his arm made it feel like his arm was about to snap like a toothpick. Gathering all his strength, Marco let out a strained yell as he pulled his friend back up onto the cliff. Securing Xanatos to his back, Marco dislodged his gauntlet from the ice before lodging his other gauntlet into it. He continued to do this until he came to flat area up the cliff where he could rest for a moment.

He then looked up the mountain to see the burning monastery come down on top of itself. Ra's al Ghoul, the Hunts Clan; they were nothing but ashes now.

* * *

After a short rest, Marco secured Xanatos to his back once again and began making his way down the mountain to the village. He came across the old man that he met when he made his way up the mountain along with the man he had saved earlier that day. The two men led Marco to the village's doctor where he set Xanatos down to be treated. The doctor said something in Chinese and the old man translated.

"We will take care of your friend and tell him of how you saved him." He translated. Marco gave a small smile at the people's generosity and bowed to the three of them before leaving. He knew what he had to do now. He was going home.

* * *

 **Hey guys, sorry if it took a while for me to update, been busy with various things. But, no need to worry, I'll be updating this story more often now that it's my main focus. Anyway, don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. Until next time, see you around.  
**


	6. Returning Home

After the long trek back down the mountain's side and an even longer time finding a phone, Marco walked onto an airstrip where a small private jet was waiting for him. Exiting the jet was the old, familiar face of Ford, an all too welcome face that Marco was more than happy to see after so long.

"I'll admit, Marco, that's a good look for you; minus the mud of course." Ford joked, referring to Marco's raggedy winter clothes that he wore on his trek up to the Hunts Clan's monastery those three months ago.

Three months. It felt so much longer to him; so much had happened. His training, his trial, his induction... his treason. He could still feel the heat of the flames. He could feel the force of the Hunts Master's blows; still see Sashi's face before she died. He vowed to not let her have died in vain.

Marco climbed onto the jet and took a seat in one of the leather seats opposite Ford. The feeling of the seat, how soft and comfortable it was, was almost alien to Marco. It had been years since he's sat in something so luxurious. He and Ford sat in silence as the plane took off from the landing strip. After they were high above the ground, Ford decided to break the silence that filled the jet.

"Will you be coming back to Echo for long, Marco?"

"... Long as it takes." Marco answered as he stared out the window to his right.

"For what?" Ford asked in slight confusion.

"To teach the people to not be afraid anymore; that they don't have to take the abuse from the corrupt." He answered seriously.

"And how do you plan to do that exactly?"

"People need examples, dramatic ones, to snap them out of ignorance and I can't do that as Marco Diaz. As a man, I'm flesh and blood; I can be destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting."

"What kind of symbol?" Ford asked.

"... Something terrifying." Marco answered simply.

"I'm guessing that this symbol that your talking about, this alter ego to take on crime, is to protect both you and the people you care about?" The elderly man asked.

"Are you talking about Jackie?"

"Actually, I was kinda thinking more about myself honestly." Ford answered with a chuckle, causing Marco to smile in return.

"Have you told anyone that I was coming back?" He asked.

"I didn't think it was wise. I couldn't tell you how many hoops you'd have to jump through to legally bring someone back from the dead." Ford said.

"Dead?" Marco asked in complete confusion.

"Yes, well, you _have_ been gone for nearly four years now." Ford explained.

"Yeah, but you had me declared dead?" Marco asked incredulously.

"Actually, it was Mr. Skeeves. He's taken the company public and he wanted to liquidate your majority shareholding. They were worth quite a bit."

Marco sat silent for a moment as he processed what his old friend had told him before merely shrugging, "Well, it was a good thing I left everything to you then." He said as he leaned on his elbow and went back to looking out the window.

"Very good thing. You're welcome to borrow the DeLorean if you want, just make sure to top off the tank when you bring it back." Ford said as he reclined his chair and closed his eyes to take a nap. Marco chuckled at Ford's offer before letting out a sigh. After all this time, he was going home.

"... Wait, you bought a DeLorean?" Marco asked when he finally registered what his elderly friend had said.

* * *

Echo Creek, once a relatively small city, was now a bustling metropolis as big as New York. Skyscrapers stretched high into the city's skyline and traffic filled the streets. It felt so different from when Marco was a child. It felt different from when he was here a mere four years ago.

Marco had arrived in the changed city three days earlier and settled back into his old home. He stood by one of the large windows that stood in the mansion's living room, looking out onto the mansion's grounds in silent contemplation, forming his plan to bring justice to the once proud city he called home.

As he was lost in thought, he heard a small squeaking noise. He broke from his thoughts for a moment and looked around him only to find nothing but the room's furniture. Shaking off the sound, he went back to his thoughts only to be broken from them again by the same squeaking noise from a moment prior.

He looked around again only to yet again find the furniture. Marco then looked up at the living room's ceiling and found none other than a lone bat, flying around in a corner of the ceiling. The bat's chirping and the flapping of its leather wings brought back the horrible memory from his childhood. But, it also brought back the lesson's he had learned at the monastery, about conquering one's fears and using them to your advantage. He stared at the little brown bat and knew what he had to do next.

Taking a harness and rope from the garden shed, he made his way to a spot behind a bush to a mossy layer of wooden boards that covered the hole from all those years ago. Removing the rotted pieces of timber, Marco tied one end of the rope to a metal spike he set up and the other end to the harness around his body and began his decent into the dark hole.

He slowly lowered himself little by little into the hole until he finally hit the bottom. Taking out a flashlight, he turned it on and looked down the dark tunnel where the bat swarm came from years back. He made his way through the tunnel, crouching under and squeezing through more narrow areas of the tunnel.

He then began to hear a noise: The sound of flowing water. Following the sound to it's source, he was somewhat surprised to find a vast, open cave with a small river and a waterfall flowing through it. The floor and ceiling was covered in stalagmites and stalactites, formed after what must've been decades of erosion.

As Marco stood in the center of the massive cave, he shown his light at the ceiling, revealing hundreds of brown bats. The light however startled the flying rodents and they began to swarm. Marco crouched down as the bats began to fly around him in a frenzy of high-pitched squeaks and flapping of leather wings, but he soon began to stand up straight in the center of the swarm, no longer afraid of the animals that had haunted him his whole life. He was no longer afraid.

* * *

Marco stepped out of his cab and payed the driver before it drove away, leaving him staring up at the building and headquarters of a business that his parents helped build: Diaz Tower.

He entered the elevator and took it to the top floor of the skyscraper. When he arrived at his destination, he found a young secretary at a desk, typing away at a computer keyboard. She was about his age with long light-brown hair, fair skin, a pink dress shirt, and sky-green skirt.

"Excuse me," Marco said as he walked up to her desk, trying to get her attention.

"Can I help you?" She asked, not even bothering to look up from her work.

"I'm here to see Mr. Skeeves," He said.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked.

"No."

"Then you can't see him."

"I'm sure if you were to tell him I'm here to see him than I'm sure he would." Marco stated, putting on a more charming tone.

"And who exactly is here to see him?" She asked.

"Marco Diaz." He said nonchalantly, causing the woman's eyes to widen and look up from her computer at the young man whom was thought to be dead.

* * *

"Now, I believe that just about wraps up our meeting. Can I offer you gentlemen some coffee?" Mr. Skeeves, the current head of the company, asked the board of directors, who nodded at the proposal, "Hope, can you bring in the coffee cart, please?" He said into an intercom. All there was was silence on the line.

"Hope, can you bring in the coffee?" He asked again in a slightly firmer tone. Again, all that followed was silence.

"Hope?" Skeeves said once again, this time very firmly, once again receiving silence.

"What on Earth is that girl up to?" Mr. Skeeves mumbled to himself as he went to the boardroom's door and opened it to find his secretary giggling and blushing while she was talking to a young man.

"Hope!" He said loudly, breaking her out of her small daze.

"Huh? What?" She said quickly in a state of confusion.

"Who are you talking to that is so important that you think you can ignore your job?" He asked.

To answer his question, the young man turned around, revealing Marco, who looked at Skeeves with a small smirk.

"Marco?" Skeeves said in disbelief as he saw the long missing millionaire.

"Hello Mr. Skeeves, been a while." He said nonchalantly as if nothing were wrong.

"B-but a-aren't you...?"

"Dead? Nah, just took a vacation and ended up staying longer than I meant to." Marco explained.

"For four years?" Skeeves asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Eh, what can I say, it was a nice vacation." He said with a smirk, "I actually came here so I could talk to you. Business and all that."

"Oh? Oh, yes, of course. Hold on a moment." He said before heading back into the boardroom to get rid of the other board members before going back to Marco, "Follow me." He said, leading him into the now empty boardroom. Once inside, Marco took a seat near the one of the ends of the table and Skeeves to the seat adjacent.

"So you wanted to talk business?" Skeeves asked, somewhat unsure how to start the conversation.

"Yes. I was actually wondering if I'd be able to get a job." Marco explained, "I figured I could help out with the company that my parents helped build."

"Of course, though what kind of job were you hoping for?" Skeeves asked somewhat nervously.

"Well I'm not gunning for your job if that's what you're thinking," Marco reassured the older man, "No, I was actually looking through the company's records and 'Applied Sciences' caught my eye."

"What? You mean Wade's division? Marco, trust me when I tell you that his division is a lost cause."

"Well I believe that's more up to me to decide." Marco said simply before getting up from his chair and leaving the board room, giving Hope a wink as he walked toward the elevator, causing the brown-haired secretary to blush a deep red as he left.


	7. Making Friends

Taking the elevator, Marco pressed the button and rode it down to one of the basement levels of the building. The elevator came to a stop and its doors opened to a very large office-looking area filled with what looked like large filing cabinets. Marco looked around the floor until he spotted a man of about thirty-two sitting at a desk looking over a set of files. He had dark skin and was slightly chubby, but not completely overweight, with freckles on his cheeks and combed back black hair. Seeing no-one else around, Marco decided to ask him for help.

"Um, excuse me." Marco called to the man while walking towards him. The man looked up from his work to see the younger Marco walk towards him, "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes actually, I was looking for Wade Load, the head of R&D." Marco said. The man then smiled as he got up from his desk, "Then you've come to the right place, Mr. Diaz," He said, shaking Marco's hand, "Wade Load, R&D."

"Wait, you're Wade? I was expecting someone... Older." Marco said in confusion.

"I get that a lot. Your dad hired me back when I was eighteen; he said he 'saw my potential', and look where that got me." Wade lamented and Marco's curiosity grew when he heard him say this.

"You knew my dad?"

"Knew him? We were basically best friends. He'd always looked over some new thing I was working on with genuine interest, unlike that snob Skeeves." Wade answered, sitting on the corner of his desk before taking a deep breath and sighing at the memory of Marco's father before recomposing himself.

"But enough dwelling on the past. What can I do for you, Mr. Diaz?"

"Well, to put it simply: I'm here to see what your departments got." He said with a small smirk. Wade looked at Marco's face and a grin grew on his lips, that face reminding him greatly of Rafael.

* * *

Wade led Marco over to one of the filing cabinets and put his thumb to a blue scanner at the top of it. Wade then pulled the drawer open, and rather than have manila folders inside, Marco was surprised to see an array of gadgets tucked in a black foam casing. Wade had his hand hover over the the case, carefully choosing which one to pick up first before taking out a gold-colored gun that curved at a forty-five degree angle.

"Gas-powered magnetic grapple gun. Able to latch onto a surface from over thirty feet and able to hold up to three-hundred-and-fifty pounds." He said, showing Marco the incredibly small wire that the gun uses before putting it back in its case and taking out some kind of black harness, "Kevlar utility harness. Strong, durable, light." He said before replacing the harness and closing the cabinet behind him and started walking again, Marco following close behind. Things were silent for a couple of moments before Wade spoke up again.

"You know I actually helped your father build the monorail all those years ago." He said in a reminiscent tone.

"Seriously?"

"Oh yeah, I handled all the technical aspects of it while your dad handled the engineering and planning. I even set up the water supply and power to follow the same route, making Diaz Tower sort of the unofficial heart of Echo Creek. We were quite proud of how it turned out." He said with a smile before it sank into a look of bitterness,"That was until he died, Skeeves took over the company, and let the whole thing go to shit."

The two remained silent until Wade came to another drawer, scanned his thumbprint, and opened it, revealing a grey-ish colored body suit that looked like it was made of some kind of molded plastic.

"This here's a Nomex survival suit for advanced infantry. Kevlar biweave with reinforced joints."

"This tear resistant?" Marco asked.

"It'll stop a knife the size of your forearm." Wade answered with a smirk.

"What about bullets?"

"It can handle most small caliber rounds, 9 and 10mm's and stuff like that. At most it can maybe take two angled shots from a .44."

"If it can do all that then why wasn't it put into mass production?"

"The boys in accounting didn't think a soldier's life was worth 200K." Wade said simply before shutting the cabinet and leaning against it, "The only question I have is: What's your interest in this stuff, Mr. Diaz?"

"I wanted to borrow them; for spelunking." Marco said simply, earning a look of total confusion from the inventor.

"... Spelunking?" Wade asked just to clarify.

"Yeah, you know, cave diving?"

"... Are you expecting to run into much gunfire in these caves?"

Marco was quiet for a few seconds, afraid that Wade caught his lie, "Listen, Wade, I would maybe rather not have Skeeves know about me taking this stuff and-"

"Marco," Wade interrupted, "The way I see it, all this stuff is yours anyway." He said with a smile which Marco returned before they shook on it.

* * *

 **-Diaz Manor, Cave System-**

Deep below the foundation of Marco's home, Marco hung from the cave wall, secured by rock-climbing equipment. He was hammering an object into the wall before attaching electrical wire to it.

"Okay. Give it a go." He called out once he was done securing the wire.

On the ground, Ford flipped a switch on a generator which powered-up a series of lights that have been set up all across the cave. Once Ford looked at his surroundings, he simply made a deadpan expression before sarcastically saying "Well this seems cozy". He looked up at the ceiling to see a small group of bats flying about.

"At least you'll have friends to keep ya company." He commented.

Marco descended from the spot on the cave wall before looking around, finding parts of the manor's foundation were in parts of the ceiling.

"This must be the lowest foundation of the northwest wing," Marco said, "You know my dad used to tell me stories about how my great grandfather would help hide runaway slaves on their way up north to Canada." He said with a hint of pride in his voice at his family's history.

After looking at the surrounding area for a bit, Marco then began to explore the cave in detail before finally coming to a waterfall that acted as a curtain between the cave and the outside. Marco was actually somewhat awestruck by the cave feature.

"Hey, Ford," He called back to his elderly friend, "You need to come see this!"

"I think I have a good enough view of it from right here, thanks." He answered back.

Marco just smiled at his friend's attitude before making his way back to him.

Over the next week, Marco and Ford made plans on how Marco would begin his crusade. They tested and made adjustments to a few of the gadgets that Wade had lent Marco while making modifications to the armor, finishing it off by airbrushing it pitch black. When Marco looked at the finished arsenal, he knew he was ready to begin. But before he could go after those that deserved it, he needed to gain another ally in his war.

* * *

Another rainy night in Echo Creek. Lieutenant Horacio Vallejo, Member of the ECPD for over thirteen years, sat in the passenger side of a police cruiser, looking out the window and seeing his partner, Detective James Thrift walk out of a convenience store, candy bar in hand and money in his pocket; was it bribe day already?

The reason Thrift was taking bribes from a convenience store owner can be narrowed down to two reasons: The owner was also a member of Ludo's drug trafficking operation, and Thrift was one of the most corrupt cops on the force. People knew he was corrupt, the reason no one bothered to turn him in was because over 90% of the force were dirty. Vallejo, he was one of the few good ones in this town.

Thrift got inside the car while chewing on his chocolate bar. Thrift was dressed in a leather coat with a flat top haircut of dirty blonde hair, which was covered by a sheriff hat he wore, saying it was a symbol of his authority.

"Want a taste?" He asked with his mouth full, though his southern accent was still noticeable, holding up a couple of dollars, "I keep offerin', hopin' one of these days you get wise and take a bite."

"No thanks. And trust me, Thrift, there's nothing wise about what your doing." He said simply before looking out his window again. Thrift just shrugged before starting the car.

"Suit yourself." He replied taking another bite out of the chocolate bar and driving down the drenched city street.

They made their way back to the police station, where Thrift dropped Vallejo off before driving away alone, saying he "had an appointment to keep".

As he entered the building, his cellphone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and answered as he entered his office.

"Hello? Oh, hey hun. Yeah, I'm doing fine. Listen, I'm going to be home late again, can you tell Isabella good night for me? Thanks babe. Love you too." He finished before hanging up and sitting down at his desk. But just as he sat down, the lights shut off. Before he could get up and check the lights, he froze as he felt cold metal press up against the back of his neck.

" **Don't turn around.** " A deep voice coming from behind him whispered.

"W-what do you want? Vallejo asked nervously.

" **Luigi Donovan has shipments of drugs coming in at the docks every night, yet nobody stops him. Why?** " The voice asked.

"H-he's paid off the right people; no one in this town is brave or stupid enough to go against him."

" **What will it take to take him down?** "

"I-I don't know. Some d-dirt on the judge he paid off, Judge Hammond, and a prosecutor brave enough to stop him."

" **... Jackie Lynn-Thomas.** " The voice said.

"Why are you telling me this and who are you?"

" **Because you're one of the good ones, Vallejo. You haven't let this city corrupt you like it has the other cops.** "

"Okay, but who are you?"

" **Look for my signal.** "

"But you're just one man."

" **Now we're two.** "

"We?" Vallejo asked in confusion, only to get silence in response. Turning around, Vallejo found there was nobody there, the window was open, and there was a stapler on the ground. He then ran over to the open window and stuck his head out to see a man dressed in all black and a ski mask running up the fire escape and heading towards the roof.

"Hey you!" He yelled before grabbing his gun off his desk and running out his office, being joined by two other officers as they headed up the staircase. Practically crashing through the roof entrance, Vallejo spotted the man in black and aimed his pistol yelling "Freeze!" as the man ran across the rooftop. When the man came to the edge, he leaped off the roof only to crash into a fire escape on the building adjacent. As the trio of cops watched the man in black scramble down the metal staircase, one of them looked to the lieutenant.

"Who was that guy, sir?"

"... Just some nutcase. Come on." He said dismissively before heading back into the precinct.


	8. First Strike

**A/N: When Marco is talking as Batman, imagine Kevin Conroy's voice, not Christian Bale's.**

* * *

Marco exited the elevator and looked around for Wade, finding him sitting at his desk. He made his way over to him and tapped the tabletop to get his attention.

"Oh, Mr. Diaz, it's good to see you again," Wade said pleasantly, getting up from his desk and shaking Marco's hand.

"Wade, there's no need for formality, you can call me Marco," Marco answered with a smile.

"Right, of course,"Wade replied, "Anyway, what brings you down here again?"

"Well I was wondering if you had any kind of light material that can hold its shape under high air resistance. I was thinking of trying out base jumping."

"Base jumping? As in like cliff diving?" Wade asked.

"Exactly that," Marco answered.

Wade put his hand to his chin and scratched it for a second before snapping his fingers, "I think i got what you need," He said, leading him back into the gadget armory. Wade came to a drawer and took out a black cloth and put it up on the table along with a pair of dark-grey gloves. Feeling the material, Marco found that it was soft and smooth, like a cross between silk and nylon.

"It's called Memory Cloth," Wade said, "It's strong but flexible. Fold or ball it up, do whatever. But pass a current through it," Wade started, putting the glove on and putting the palm to the cloth and the cloth sprung into the shape of a tent, "The iron molecules woven into it realign and it changes to the shape you shaped it to."

"What kind of shapes can it make?" Marco asked.

"It can make just about anything based on a rigid skeleton," Wade explained.

"To expensive for the army I take it?"

"Bingo."

"Hey Wade, listen, if you're not comfortable with all this then-"

"Marco, if Skeeves asks me what your doing with this stuff, then I won't have to lie when I say 'I don't know'. But don't think me a fool."

Marco gave a small smile before patting Wade on the shoulder, "Thanks Wade," he said before he looked over him and spotted something beneath a tarp, "Hey, what's this?" He asked, walking over to it.

"Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that," Wade said quickly but was too late as Marco removed the tarp to find a long, silver-colored car. There weren't any doors, just windows and windshield. The tires were low to the ground and there were small fins and a spoiler on the back. Walking around the vehicle, Marco found what looked like a jet engine on the car's rear. The machine had a sleek design, meaning it was clearly built for speed and making sharp turns.

"What is it?" Marco asked.

"It's a, uh, custom car I've been working on," Wade said with a chuckle.

"I don't see any doors; how do you get in?" Marco asked, taking interest in the automobile.

"That's one of the cool parts," Wade said, no longer nervous, and going over to a cabinet and grabbing what looked like a small box about the size of a cell phone and coming back, "Open," He said into the box. Suddenly, the windshield began to move forward, like the cockpit of a jet.

Looking inside, Marco found that the car seated two people and the dashboard was covered with various buttons, switches, and instruments that did who knows what.

"I took different parts from any of the auto projects that never got off the ground. The main engine is 980 horsepower, the wheels are specially designed to have maximum traction, and I salvaged the afterburner from a jet thruster," Wade explained, "The whole thing can be voice-operated or manually controlled; and check this out. Lock down Mode," He said into the microphone.

Suddenly, the cockpit closed shut and dark-black armor plating came out from the edges, covering the car in a strong metal armor.

"Reinforced steel plating. Completely bullet proof and nearly impenetrable." Wade said with a smirk.

"Are you going to war?" Marco asked half-jokingly.

"Have you seen the city lately?" Wade replied, also half-joking.

 _'Unfortunately, yes.'_ Marco thought to himself sadly.

"Two questions," Marco asked, "Is it operational?"

"For the most part, yes. What's your other question?" Wade asked.

A small smile grew on Marco's face before becoming a smirk, "Does it come in black?"

* * *

 **-Echo City Docks, 10:46 PM-**

The entire shipyard was surrounded by both mob guards and corrupt cops alike. A police car and a luxury car drove up to the center of the dock and came to a stop. Getting out of the cruiser was Detective Thrift and from the luxury car was Ludo.

They stood in front of each other and shook hands, before getting down to brass tacks. Going over to a shipping container and opening it, one of Ludo's men took a crate from it. Tearing the lid off it, the man revealed the crate's contents: stuffed animals. At first, Thrift was confused by the crate's contents before the man gave a teddy bear to Ludo, who, in turn, ripped the bear's head from its shoulders and taking something from its stuffing and handing it to the detective.

Upon closer inspection, Thrift found the animals stuffing were in fact packets of various narcotics: heroin, coke, pot, you name it. Thrift then smiled as he understood what was happening before signalling his men to help the mobsters load the drugs on two different trucks.

Once the drugs were loaded, the two trucks drove away before splitting up and going in opposite directions. Thrift then faced Ludo and they shook hands before Thrift rounded up his men and they left, leaving the gangsters behind. Ludo got into his car and was about to drive off when they heard a noise.

"Go and check it out." He ordered his driver, who nodded and grabbed a pistol and leaving the car.

The mobsters were patrolling the hallways that were created by the rows of shipping containers. When they came to where the sound came from, they found nothing but a wall. All of a sudden, the lamps that lit the corridors suddenly blew out, making the mobsters jump.

Looking down, one of the men found a small, metal object. Picking it up and examining it closely, the mobster found that it was in the shape of a bat. He suddenly heard a swoosh sound from behind him and found that one of his friends was gone. Another swoosh happened and his other friend disappeared as well. The man looked up and to his shock, he saw what looked like a giant bat with outstretched wings standing atop the shipping containers. Panicking now, began to run for his life through the corridors, taking out a cellphone from his coat.

"Mr. Donovan, sir, there's some kind of giant bat creature around here. He just took out two of our boys!"

"Save that superstitious nonsense for Halloween, Jimmy, it's just a trick I bet. I want you to find him and-"

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"Hello? Hello?! What the hell?! What's going on out there!?He yelled into the phone when all of a sudden, the sunroof was shattered and the mob boss was pulled out by the shirt collar. He looked at his attacker to see him shadowed in darkness. Right now, Ludo was panicking and sweating bullets.

"What the hell are you?!" He squeaked.

" **I am vengeance. I am the night. I. AM. BATMAN!** " The attacker yelled in a gruff tone, revealing his face to be covered by a black cowl and his body covered by a pitch black outfit with a black cape on his back.

* * *

 **-ECPD-**

Lieutenant Vallejo was busy working at his desk, and by "work" he was in fact playing solitaire, when all of a sudden an officer ran inside his office.

"Sir, quick, look out your window!" He said quickly.

Vallejo complied and looked out and, to his surprise, on the cloud layer above the city, there was what looked like the silhouette of a giant bat.

At first Vallejo was confused but then he understood.

"So that's what he meant," He said.

"Sir?" The officer asked in confusion.

"Get a squad together, kid, Christmas came early this year." Vallejo said with a smirk as he grabbed his jacket and holster and headed out the door.

* * *

 **A/N: So rather than the Tumbler, I decided to go with a more Tim Burton Batmobile design. What can I say, it's iconic.**


End file.
